Q&A ยท 21:57-22:34

A Japanese night bombardment of Pearl Harbor trades surprise for delay

Sending Japanese battleships into Pearl Harbor after the air strikes would create panic but give the defenders most of a day to prepare.

Question

What happens if Nagumo orders his battleships to conduct a night bombardment after the two Pearl Harbor air strikes?

Short answer

The battleships would cause great panic, but waiting until night would give the Americans time to wake, organize, and meet the one form of follow-up they might be able to handle.

Notes

The carrier strikes occur early in the morning, so a night bombardment requires the battleships to wait before closing the harbor. Their appearance would likely cause major alarm in the United States. The delay, however, means American forces would be fully awake and organizing a response by the time the ships arrived. The scenario therefore exchanges the shock of the original raid for a surface action against an alerted defense.